DENVER — Gov. Jared Polis' housing proposal — which, as originally introduced sought to impose state mandates and effectively strip local governments of their authority over land use and zoning — is dead after all-day negotiations failed to find a compromise between the Senate and House versions.
The bill's failure marks the biggest defeat for Polis, who has been able to persuade the General Assembly's Democrats to support his major policy proposals every year since he took office in January 2019.
At just after 7 p.m., Senate Majority Leader Dominick Moreno, D-Commerce City, confirmed the bill is dead for the 2023 session.
"You win some, you lose some," said Rep. Steven Woodrow, the House sponsor of Senate Bill 213, which will be allowed to die on the calendar without the Senate ever discussing the amendments made by the House.
The Senate had effectively gutted the bill, turning it into a requirement for a statewide housing needs assessment, but House Democrats restored substantial portions of what had been gutted, setting up a showdown with the Senate.
A contingent of Senate Democrats, including Joint Budget Committee chair Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, D-Arvada, is believed to be opposed to the House changes, particularly efforts to hand over to the state control of zoning. Zenzinger referred to it as her "bright line" over which she would not cross, and sources said there were at least six more Democrats backing that position, which would be more than enough to get the Senate to adhere to its version and rebuff the House changes.
>Read the full article at Colorado Politics
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